The greatest assets of our nation are diversity and creativity because differences in thought, background, experiences, and beliefs bring to bear the greatest number of ideas for solving any problem. It also means, you have the best ability to question and optimize your ideas or solutions. Further, when you add a dose of creativity to the mix, the most effective solutions are expected. THIS is why researchers work in multi-disciplinary teams. Doing so increases the probability of getting the best answer to any problem.
Expanding that point across the entire nation means we have the best opportunity in our country to capitalize on our diversity and use it as a competitive edge internationally. Yet instead, we focus so much on proving we are the best that we handicap our abilities to achieve.
It’s not about proving ones opinion, it’s about finding the right answer.
The notion that someone is willing to cut off their nose to spite their face acts as a perfect metaphor to the compulsive need to be perceived as one who generates the good ideas rather than the one that cultivates them. In too many cases, people are willing to achieve a lower standard simply in order to obtain full credit for the marginal result. Wouldn’t it be better to work together instead of against each other?
“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” – Steve Jobs
Pulling that thread….consider inspiring your neighbor, your friends, your family, the strangers around you to share their great ideas rather than spending your energy trying to convince them of your own. If we can better capitalize on the diverse brilliance in this nation by creating national level conduits for sharing ideas, we can innovate at a much more rapid rate and propel our nation, and our world, forward. We don’t have to be the best at everything, we have to recognize the best and incorporate them into our solutions.